Harry Potter Does the Way Back : Book Two
by Another Reader
Summary: The first year was easy enough, Wormtail is gone, and the Diary will get nipped in the bud pronto, right? The giant snake can just stay asleep forever. For time-traveler Harry, second year will be smooth sailing. Right up until it suddenly isn't. Pesky Butterflies. [Book Two] (Go read the first one.)
1. Chapter 1

_Chapter 1: In Which a Seriously Hairy Meeting Takes Place_

"Wow. I kind of thought it wouldn't actually happen."

"Me tripping all over myself, or just turning up in general?" Harry asked from the rug in front of the fireplace.

"Both."

"I told you I would. You're going to have to start trusting me on these things, Padfoot."

"Harry," Sirius said, helping the boy up. "I've just met you, and this is crazy… What is going on?"

Harry looked around and patted imaginary dust off his clothes. He had flooed in to Sirius' new house- more like ranch- in Wyoming. Apparently land was cheap here, and Sirius had used some of his reparation money to get on the property ladder.

"Nice digs. Well, I say nice. It looks like they're going to film a reboot of Bonanza in here."

"I bought it a month ago, I've not really had time to decorate."

"Oh well, maybe I can help. I've got almost three months of summer, and I don't want to overstay my welcome at the Weasleys'."

"That's great, but I still don't know how you got me out, or what is going on."

"You," Harry paused dramatically, "are being too serious."

"I can't help that, it's in my nature."

Harry smiled, and Sirius snorted.

"Alright. I'll explain, but let me check for bugs." Harry waved his wand, and a pulse of light shot out.

"Looks like we're good."

"Harry, you're underage."

"First of all, we're in a different country, second of all, I dodged the trace so far, thirdly, we're mentally about the same age."

Sirius scowled, "Well, that's just rude."

"I'm a time traveler. Everything went tits up, and I couldn't beat Voldemort because of the Horcruxes, so I sent my mind back in time in order to save everything. I'm 3o-ish depending on how you count."

His godfather was processing the words. Harry could tell by the blank look and the blinking. "... That's so stupid. I love it."

"I'm glad. Let me go into a bit more detail…"

••••••••••

Sirius rubbed his face with both hands. "That's…"

"Stupid, amazing, brilliant, horrible, hilarious?" Harry supplied.

"All of the above and more," Sirius decided. "You know, I can't get over the fact that I fell into the veil. Stupid ministry shouldn't even have it out like that."

"Yeah, I had a small hope that you would somehow have followed me into this timeline, but I guess not."

Sirius blinked. "That doesn't even make any sense."

Harry shrugged. "Nothing makes sense around me. I'm a maelstrom of chaos."

"That sounds scarily accurate, actually." He grinned. "I'm glad you're keeping up the Marauder tradition."

Harry scoffed. "You and Dad were arseholes at school."

"What? We were the life of the school!"

"You two were frequently bullies, and you tried to get Severus killed. I have eyewitness memories of the two of you acting as badly as Draco Malfoy did in the previous timeline."

"That's… taken out of context!"

"Your only excuse is youth, and that many teens are cruel," Harry shrugged. "I'm not saying it's inexcusable. But don't act as though the Marauders should be emulated. One of them was Pettigrew."

Sirius winced. "Low blow, Harry."

Harry cut the air with his hand. "Just the truth. I was a jerk while in Hogwarts too. Most kids are from time to time." He sighed, "Enough of that. Other than updating your home decor, what do you think we should do?"

"Shouldn't we put some thought into where his horcruxes are?"

"Ugh. Eventually. I think I'll have it solved once I get a hold of the diary though. But it's summer break and we don't have to worry about that for a few years. Probably."

"Probably?"

"Yes. It'll most likely take longer than last time, with Peter locked up. Let's have some fun!"

"Like what?"

"Well, I had been thinking Vegas, but it will probably be better to wait until I'm at least 18, if not 21."

"Americans have weird age limits. You can buy a gun before you can drink."

"We sell wands to eleven year olds. And we just had a conversation about kids being dicks. I bet if as many children had access to magic as had partial access to their parent's guns we'd see a whole world of shit. Carrie wouldn't be a horror film, but a documentary. You don't need to know dark spells to do damage, I once killed a man with the tickling curse."

Sirius raised an eyebrow.

"It was early-ish in the war. I didn't have the stomach for torture. Yet. I needed some information. It turns out if you keep someone laughing for long enough, they can get hypoxia. I didn't get the information from them, but the next guy in line was very forthcoming."

"... You're a little scary."

"I was a lot scary. I'm better now." His mouth twitched, and he let out a small snort before grinning. "Mostly. Consider this a rehab vacation for two."

"I can get on board for that. If not Vegas…?"

"Seattle? It's summer, the weather might be nice."

"Bit of a trip, and I'm not made of money."

"You live in Wyoming. Everything's a trip. Except we're wizards. And as to money, I'm bankrolling everything. I'm a time traveller, we looked up the stock market records before coming back."

"You're the best godson ever."

"We can't be too conspicuous. It just means we get to have some fun without any worries. No yachts or limos or Dom Perignon magnums. "

"Kill joy."

"Oh please. I'm not going to be stingy, I just wanted to cut you off before you started daydreaming."

•••••••••••

There were about three weeks left of summer vacation left when they returned to England. After spending a week in Seattle, they continued the tourism in NYC, DC, and went back to Miami so Harry could see the mind specialists again.

"We've been having a great time Harry, why do we have to come back _here_?"

They were standing in front of Black Manor.

"Because we need a home in England, and you already own it. Plus, as annoying as I'm sure you think it will be, you are a Lord of a most ancient and blah blah kill me now family. This is a very useful tool. We're going to use it to our advantage."

"Oh gods. Politics?"

"As little as possible, but yes. We can probably get you a representative for most matters. I have some ideas about that as well. Let's go in."

"Harry, how much do you know about this house?"

"Eh, some? I spent a fair amount of time in it. The library is… interesting."

Sirius winced, "That's one word to use."

Harry smirked. "Come on, open it up."

Sirius tapped the front door with his wand, and the sound of locks, bolts, and some sort of chain mechanism could be heard activating. The two walked in quickly, wands drawn.

Harry put a finger up to his lips, and turned to the horrible old troll's leg umbrella stand with his wand. "First things first," he whispered.

He stood there, wand pointed for over a minute, as the macabre piece of furniture slowly transformed into a large metal dome.

"What _are_ you doing?"

"Shh. This is important. Your late mother left some presents behind since your incarceration."

Sirius blinked, but still didn't see the point.

Harry cast a levitation charm on the dome, and grabbed it. "Cast a sticking charm on it, will you?"

Sirius rolled his eyes, but accommodated his godson.

Lining it up with the curtains on the central wall across from the door, Harry stepped forward and pressed it against the wall.

There was a faint sound of curtains opening, then a slightly muffled yelling began.

" _Silencio!"_

The wailing stopped, and Harry let out a sigh of relief. "Your mother left an animated portrait behind. It's _very_ resistant to magic, and has a permanent sticking charm onto the wall. And the umbrella stand was tacky as hell."

"As well as cursed to trip people. Ah, my mother. Lovely woman. A really loving family, this was."

"Your ability to say that with a straight face is astounding."

Sirius grinned. "Any other changes since I was last here?"

Harry shrugged, "Don't know. I got here after the Order of the Phoenix cleaned it out a fair bit. But it was abandoned for however long, and I know there were infestations of doxies and other pests."

"Are you _sure_ we have to stay here?"

"We need a place in England, and property prices are stupid expensive. We're going to redecorate with extreme prejudice, pay to have the wards tuned up and updated, and eventually slap a fidelius on it. Hocus pocus, alakazam- one bachelor pad slash safe house. We might even, if we're feeling generous, let the Order use it a bit."

"... You're taking things a bit for granted."

"Sirius, you loathe this place, and would be happy to see it burnt to the ground."

"Now you're talking!"

"Redecorate with _extreme prejudice._ Modernize it, and make it into something that would have all your ancestors rolling in their graves. Afterwards, it's just a large property in London."

A smile slowly grew on Sirius' face. "Okay, I can get behind that. I wish you could have told me before I bought the ranch though."

"Nah, we'll want a place in the US as well. The food's better."

"When it isn't trying to give you a heart attack."

"Have you ever had a donna kebab? Scotland literally _invented_ deep fat frying."

"They drive on the wrong side of the street."

"True. They're farther from France though."

"That's… Damn. Good point."

"Hah. Point for me. Could you call Kreacher? He can help out."

"Kreacher? Fuck." Sirius quickly glanced at Harry sheepishly.

He shrugged. "Technically kinda older than you. I just try to stay in character for school, and Hermione. You syphilitic pig cunt, you," Harry said dryly.

Sirius snorted, then broke into a few chuckles. "Don't change the subject. I don't want to have anything to do with Kreacher."

"To be fair, he wants nothing to do with you. But he's not that bad if you treat him well. Also, there were questions about him and Regulus."

"Regulus? What's he got to do with the price of fish?"

"It's a long story, but Regulus and Kreacher might be the key to finding one of the horcruxes. Plus, your constant abuse of Kreacher was one link in the chain that led to your jump through the Veil."

"Ugh… Fine. Kreacher! Come!"

The elf in question popped into the room with a look of surprise.

"Master? Argh, traitorous master returns! Exile, muggle lover, blood traitor!"

Sirius closed his eyes and let his breath out very slowly. Harry could see his hand gripping his wand tighter, and intervened.

"Kreacher, we'd like to clean up Black Manor and restore it. Could you help us?"

The house elf stopped his rant to look at Harry. "Master is now bringing in brats! No, not just any brat, the one who brought defeat to the Dark Lord! Miserable Potter brat! Miserable traitor master!"

"Kreacher, shut up!" Sirius shouted.

Kreacher obeyed, but glared.

"How are we supposed to work with this?"

"It will take time, but it's important."

Sirius growled. "Fine. I have a solution." He grabbed his wand and held it towards the ceiling. "I do hereby transfer ownership of Kreacher the house elf to Harry James Potter. So mote it be."

A small flash of light from Sirius' wand swept across the room, and Harry faintly felt a change in the back of his mind. "Oh you complete and utter wanker."

"Potter is new master?"

Harry sighed. "Apparently."

"Stupid ex-master. Stupid new master."

"Undoubtedly," Harry agreed.

Kreacher paused, confused at the admission, before shrugging.

"Well, there you go. You can be nice to him if it's so important."

Harry took a deep breath, then let it out. "... Fine. I can work with this. Kreacher, please start dusting. We're going to make the manor habitable again."

"Hmph. Yes master." He popped out of the room.

Harry shook his head. "All right. Let's start making the place safe. Shall we leave the library for last?"

"Probably for the best."

•••••••••••••

That night, Harry lay in a bed he must have used over a dozen cleaning spells on, reading the strange book the headmaster had given him for christmas. He sighed as he put it down. Calling it 'dense' had been an understatement. It reminded him of descriptions of the books ancient muggle alchemists would write, half in code, half crazy ramblings from trying to turn lead into gold by playing with mercury.

So far, he could tell it had topics about the languages of magic, summoning, wandless magic, ritual magic, daemonology, wand lore, spell crafting, blood magic, and more. The most annoying thing perhaps was that the entire thing was disorganized, as if several notebooks of genius mages had been unbound, shuffled, and rebound again.

He had tried spending some time each day with it since Albus had explained what it was, but it was exhausting work. He had to keep several translation spells going at once, while simultaneously trying to make heads or tails of the writing itself.

Still, he could see there was information in there. Perhaps important information. Most nights he would sift through the book and come up with a small nugget of knowledge. So he chipped away at it, and hoped the headmaster would be more forthcoming in their next conversation.

"I wonder, is this some sort of karmic balance for already knowing my school work?" he muttered at the book. It remained silent, which wasn't always a given, and he put it on his bed side table with a sigh before turning out the light.


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2: It was the Summer of '69, Those were the Best Days of Our Lives_

Several days later, Hedwig returned with a letter from the Weasleys. Harry had written to Ron, Hermione, and Neville to let them know he was back in England. Ron had been asking his parents to let Harry come over since summer began, so now that he was back, arrangements were made.

Curiously, he had received a letter from Remus, apologising for being unavailable over the summer, but suggesting that the two may meet rather soon. It left Harry scratching his head, but he and Sirius were too busy cleaning, and he soon forgot about it.

With about a week left before term started up again, Harry would be staying over with the Weasleys. Hermione had asked her parents to come, but they had turned her down. Neither of them had gone to boarding school, and hadn't ever considered sending her until she turned out to be magical. Harry had grinned at the letter, it seemed her parents were missing her through the school year. It probably didn't help that she would have been sleeping under the same roof as the weird boy who had given her _all the books_ for Christmas.

He was flung out of the fireplace into a pile of throw-pillows.

"How thoughtful!" Harry mumbled around his knee, towards the ceiling.

"Oh dear! I thought Ron and the twins were being silly with those, but you really don't floo well, do you? Are you alright dear?"

"Fine, thanks, the pillows helped loads."

"You're finally here!" Ron helped him up, while the twins threw the pillows back on the couch. "Took your time, didn't you?"

"I was meeting my godfather, and anyway, I didn't want to overstay my welcome."

"Bill and Charlie brought friends over for summer break all the time, didn't they mum?" a twin asked.

"Very true, Harry, don't worry about that," Mrs. Weasley said smiling. "Are you hungry?"

"I ate lunch before coming, but thank you."

"Of course. Arthur is at work, you'll get to meet him properly before dinner. Ginny is with her friend Luna down the village, and Percy is probably in his room."

Harry nodded, they had all met briefly on the Hogwarts Express platform, but it had been two or three minutes at most. "Great, and thanks again for letting me stay over."

"Not a problem at all, Harry dear."

"Come on, let's get on the brooms. Also, I've got your birthday present for you. How was I supposed to get it to you in America? Owls can't do that!"

Harry chuckled, and let Ron lead him away.

•••••••••••••

As much fun as it had been seeing sights with Sirius, staying with Ron and his family brought back so many good memories, as well as making plenty of new ones.

"Well, go on. Open it up."

"All right, all right, I'm opening it." Clearly Ron was annoyed about Christmas still, and had come up with a birthday gift.

Harry opened the box and pulled out a stack of magazines. They had moving covers, like practically all wizarding entertainment media.

"I thought you might not have had time to try these," Ron explained.

Harry nodded, looking at the covers. "Oh! You were right. Let's see, _Adventures of Merlin_ , _It Came from Tir na Nog_ , _Tales of Mystery_ , _When Sidhe Attack!_... these are brilliant!"

"I suppose muggles have something similar, but they don't move. Some are serials, that one there is a one-off." He pointed to _Beedle the Bard's Tales_.

"Thanks, I hadn't ever gotten into this stuff before." He gave Ron a hug.

"Thank goodness, it took me forever to think up this. Now, I should give you a tour."

Harry smiled, "Please."

"Great!" So we're in my room, obviously-" Ron began showing Harry around. After about ten minutes they ended up under the attic entrance. " ... and if you hear some odd sounds from up here, especially at night, it's just… you already know all this." Ron looked hurt as the thought dawned on him.

Harry looked around quickly before glaring at his friend. "Only because you've described it so well at school."

Ron blinked, then nodded. "Right. Well, that's the tour. Um, it's not much, but it's ours."

"It's brilliant, Ron. Want to go flying?"

Ron grinned and nodded, before the two raced down stairs.

•••••••••••••

The two slowly soared through the air. Slowly, as the Weasley brooms were all old, mostly bought second hand. A stiff breeze could nearly double your speed, or almost halt it, depending.

"Mum says it's so we stay safe, and don't try to run off and join a circus. Probably more to do with not affording anything better," Ron said, slightly glum.

Harry sighed. "Mate, we need to have a talk about money, and babies."

Ron gave him a look. "What _are_ you on about?"

"You're parents aren't poor."

Ron looked at the broom between his legs, then pointed to a bit if his shirt that was off color. "Harry, I have a patch in my shirt. A _patch_. This shirt is older than I am. It's gone through so many brothers my mum had to add more fabric because the repair spell was starting to fail."

"And it is precisely because of your numerous siblings your family appears poor. Look around you. Your parents own this land. Is it an estate? No. Is there a mortgage? No. Your father is a department head in the ministry. One of the smaller, less prestigious departments, perhaps, but it gets paid nearly the same. And on that salary, he has raised seven children. Your parents aren't poor, they have _different priorities_."

"Different priorities? The two aren't… um, mutually exclusive? We are poor. Just because there are good reasons doesn't make it go away."

Harry sighed. Ron wasn't wrong, per say, but he still didn't _get it_. "That's fair, Ron, but I… I guess what I'm trying to say is, would you trade in Ginny for robes and a broom?"

"Of course not. Percy on the other hand… No, I get what you're trying to say, but it doesn't stop me from wishing we had more. Didn't your parents leave you a pile?"

"A fair bit, yes. Wasn't very useful, ultimately. Hah, you and I spent three days in a cave, living on rats once."

"How did that happen?"

"We were looking for clues to… well, it doesn't matter anymore. Needless to say things didn't go as planned. We got our wands back, and made it home alive though. I hope I never have to taste rat again. At least we were able to grill them."

Ron made a face. "If you were trying to convince me that things could be worse, you succeeded. Things could still be better though."

"You may have just described life in a nutshell."

•••••••••••••

Several days later, Ginny was still skittish around Harry. As was to be expected, he thought. They had seen each other for maybe 90 seconds while he boarded the train, and probably 5 minutes at the beginning of summer at the station again when Ron introduced Harry to Molly and Arthur. Harry tried to put her at ease, but didn't go too far out of his way to do so. It would have looked odd. Harry mostly spent time flying with Ron and the twins, and helped do the unlimited chores that piled up over the school year until the Weasley brood returned home. They also practiced occlumency together, the twins immediately latching onto the practicality of such a skill for pranking.

This basic pattern continued until the third day, when he caught someone following Ginny down the path as he went out for another flying session. Ron followed his gaze, "Oh, that's Luna Lovegood… but I guess you know that already."

"Loose lips Ron," Harry automatically said for the hundredth time. Ron was pretty good about it, but got careless when he thought they were alone. Not that Harry hadn't made the occasional slip, but he at least tried. Harry changed direction and wandered towards the girls, the twins going ahead to the pitch. Ron looked after his brothers, but followed Harry reluctantly.

As he approached, it seemed Luna gained a determined expression, and she seemed to angle towards him as well. " _Maybe Ginny has been talking about me?"_

"Hey Ginny! Hello, I'm Harry, are you a friend of Ginny's?"

Luna frowned. "I do hope you're playing at opsic Harry. I'm not cut out to be a resistance leader."

Harry froze. "... OpSec?" He asked, not sure if he what he suspected was a good thing or not. Or how it was even possible.

Ginny winced. "Sorry Harry, Luna's um… This is Luna Lovegood, a friend of mine from Ottery St Catchpole."

Both Harry and Luna looked ill. Luna started mumbling. "Gordon Bennett, I'm going to have to teach him everything. The ritual should have worked. I mean, saving Mum was worth it, but..."

"You remember?"

"... Oh, good. I won't have to save the world myself. That's a relief."

Ginny looked back and forth, completely confused, with Ron not far behind. Harry's mouth was open slightly, and he kept blinking. "Oh. Happy to help, Luna."

Ron watched as his friend, and self-proclaimed destined one, fainted flat on his face.

••••••••••••••

Harry came to, laying in grass. Something wasn't right; he couldn't remember what he had been doing. There weren't any of the noises associated with battle, so he decided to keep his eyes closed for the moment.

"No, that was good thinking Ron, Mum would've gone pear shaped and sent him to St. Mungo's or something," said a voice. Harry realized it was one of the twins.

"Would someone tell me what's going on?" demanded Ginny.

Harry risked a peek. Everyone was standing around his body in a circle, and they seemed to be on the Weasley's quidditch pitch. Well, extended backyard really. Only Luna seemed to be looking at him, the male Weasley's were looking at Ginny, who was busy glaring back at them.

Harry slapped his hand onto Ginny's foot and cast a stunner. It wasn't easy, but he could manage a silent, wandless stunner, especially if he was in direct contact. Ginny dropped like a sack, and Harry groaned and sat up.

There was a pause as events caught up to everyone, then one of the twins spoke. "Harry, you'd better have a very good reason for doing whatever you just did to our little sister, or else all the hyphens in the world aren't going to save you from getting the shit kicked out of the-boy-who-lived-t0-the-age-of-twelve."

"I'm calling an immediate emergency meeting of the Ashes of the Phoenix."

The twins shared a puzzled glance. "Oh… that's kind of important, I guess? What did you do to her anyway?" the other twin asked.

"Yay, meeting time. Should I get the secret meeting hats?" Luna asked.

"Not now Luna. I just did a stunner. She'll be fine."

"You can do a stunner wandless? And why didn't you do it to Luna?"

Ron leaned over and arranged his sister so she was lying more comfortable. Or so he hoped. He turned back to Harry frowning. Knowing Harry's propensity to grandstand, he wasn't quite sure that his friend didn't still require a few kicks.

Harry waved his hand back and forth. "It's not that hard. People just don't apply themselves. And it's Captain Luna to you three, she's apparently senior to everyone in this timeline, right?" He directed this last to Luna, who had a faint smile.

"Only if we go by membership time Harry. I don't think I'd do well giving orders."

Harry shrugged. "Nope. Ashes of the Phoenix are a secret subsidiary of the Order of the Phoenix, me at the top, now you, then these two knuckleheads due to their age and the fact that I didn't use proper OpSec around them," He paused after the pronunciation and gave a meaningful look at Luna, "then Hermione and Ron at the bottom until they're a bit older. That's everybody so far, and I trust that any orders you think are important enough to give are pretty smart ones to follow."

"Thanks Harry, but… I'm not quite as sane as I used to be."

Everyone blinked. "This would explain a lot, actually." Ron said.

Harry cleared his throat, "You're not as sane as you were _last time_? Actually, how did you… When I came back, that timeline should have collapsed."

"It did. Turns out the reason I've always been odd is that my timeline is anchored."

Harry sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "Explain it like I was Ron."

"Oy!"

"I always know when time's been messed with. It was just on an instinctual level before, but I had known something was up with Hermione your third year. Turns out that Crumple-horned Snorkacks used to roam all over England, until a witch tried destroying an artifact in Krakatoa. Last time, I could sometimes catch them in the corner of my eye, or if I was near those long muggle light bulbs. Anyway, since you pimp-slapped the time-space fabric with the ritual and sent yourself back, I've been much more sensitive. You ripped such a large hole in reality, that it sort of poked me in the third eye, metaphorically." Luna smiled all the way through the explanation, looking at a spot about two inches left of Harry's face, and Harry realised that all of the oddness he remembered as being quintessential to Luna was pronounced even more so now.

"But it was definitely worth it though! I saved my mother, and you can stop Riddle, and if I look 10 degrees off of reality, I can see Crumple-horned Snorkacks now! Oh, and you can relax about Wrackspurts, they're too far out of synch with our reality to bother us unless we summon one! Sorry, I didn't know last time."

Harry sighed, and rubbed his face. "Did we accidently give you the power to see Cthulian nightmares and angles not known to man?"

"Snorkacks are cute," Luna shrugged. "Wrackspurts… well, they don't have tentacles, but…" she frowned for the first time and her voice dropped to a whisper, "well, they're not as ugly as daemons."

Harry shuddered. "Well, I'm glad you were able to save your mother. I can't believe we didn't think to do something about that. You should have mentioned it during planning."

Luna shrugged again. Harry wondered if it was just this conversation, or if she had developed a tic. "You had a lot on your plate, we were hoping you'd have half the war won by now… As callous as it sounds, I had been at peace with my mother's death for over a decade, it wasn't the same priority as saving the world. Speaking of, how's that coming along?"

Harry groaned. "You weren't the only one to come out of this with fewer marbles. Turns out stuffing my adult thoughts into my kid brain broke it for a few years, and it still won't work at full capacity for a few more years. Also, running a hopeless war during my formative years may have scrambled me a bit even before I came back. Honestly, I didn't do much until a few months before last school year."

Luna nodded. "Oh dear. So are things back on track?"

"Kinda? Ish? No, not really. I did bring in Dumbledore and Snape."

"You brought in _Snape_?"

"Where one goes, the other follows. What would you have me do, kill him?"

"Yes? ... Maybe."

"Well, I asked, but Albus vetoed it."

"Since when have you started asking permission for hits?"

"Since my mind was minced and squeezed through time into my tiny brain like a leek and pork sausage. I can't fully trust myself. We need to face facts. The plan is completely broken. We're going to have to deal with his lucky charms. At least we have foreknowledge."

"Ugh. We still don't know where they all are though!"

Harry shrugged. "I have ideas. If we get the one this year, we could do a contamination and contagion ritual to find the others. Perhaps."

Luna looked thoughtful, "Oh, that is intriguing." She paused. "Perhaps sounds about right. He would have taken precautions."

Harry nodded. "Of course. This was never going to be easy."

"Uh, guys? What the bloody hell are you going on about?" Ron asked.

Luna smiled. "We're doomed, Ronald!"

"Don't panic," Harry smiled back.

"It's so great to be back, isn't it Harry?" She jumped forward and hugged Harry when he caught her. He spun her around once before letting her back down to her feet.

"I guess. It means a lot of work though."

"As if it was a walk in the park back when we left things."

"You've got me there."

The two broke their embrace.

"So what do we do with our sister?" George asked.

"Um…" Harry started.

"Wake her up Harry, I've got this one," Luna said.

Harry shrugged, before pulling out his wand. " _Ennervate."_

Ginny took a deep breath and quickly sat up. "Wha-?"

"Oh good, you're awake too," Luna quickly began.

"I- oh, Harry's up? What happened?"

"Thukkles. They can cause fainting fits."

Ginny looked at her friend. "Thukkles? You've never mentioned them before."

"I apologise, I thought everyone knew? It's pretty easy to keep them away though, since they don't like pumpkins."

Harry gasped. "Is that why we drink pumpkin juice _constantly_ at school?"

"Of course."

"Well that makes sense. I had milk for breakfast."

Ginny watched the two, unsure of what to make of this development. "I- I guess I had porridge and water," she finally admitted.

"I had pumpkin juice, didn't you?" Fred asked George.

"Only one glass. Is that enough?"

"Oh yes, George. Ron, did you have any?"

Ron looked slightly confused, as if he knew something was wrong, but couldn't put his finger on it. "Uh, not today? Dinner though."

"Oh dear. Since there's one about, maybe we should all go get the three of you a cup."

"It's already attacked us," Harry pointed out, "Will it strike again?"

"True. Ronald, run along and get some pumpkin juice. You don't want to fall unconscious on the broom, do you?"

Ron blinked, and scowled a moment as it all clicked for him. "... I? No?" He slumped dejectedly before sighing and walking back to the Burrow. "Wankers," he murmured.

"How long was I out?"

"You woke up right after I did," Harry answered.

George smiled, "Just a few minutes, Gin."

"Do we have enough brooms for us all?" Luna asked.

"Someone will have to use the old Shooting Star."

Ginny winced. "Ugh. I guess since Ron's not here he's stuck with it."

Harry snickered. One day Ron would wise up. "Sounds like a plan."


	3. Chapter 3

**_Chapter 3: Diagon Alley is a pun, in case you missed it._**

It was time for the annual shopping trip for school supplies, and Harry was eager for it to happen. Not only was he missing Hermione's presence, but Lucius would be handing him a Horcrux on a silver platter. If his plan had any merit, it might just lead to all the others, even ignoring the fact Harry would keep the chamber from re-opening.

"Sirius wrote to let us know he'd meet us at Gringotts," Molly said. "I do hope he's well, what that man must have gone through…"

"We'll see him soon enough," Arthur said calmingly. "Perhaps he'll come round for tea sometime?"

"Oh, of course! I'll make sure to ask. Oh, remind me to pick up some floo powder while we're there, we're running low. Everyone through, now."

Harry had no plans to visit Knockturn Alley this time. Though perhaps he should get Sirius to buy the vanishing cupboard from Borgin. It could be useful in all sorts of ways… He would have to ponder the idea later though, as he took a pinch of powder and boldly stepped into the fire.

Another horrible wizarding transportation later, he managed to barely stumble into Diagon Alley, just in time for the twins to grab him by the shoulders.

"Thanks. I'm going to have to invent an anti-stumbling bracelet or something at this rate."

"Not a bad idea, actually, you're not the only one who disagrees with floo travel."

"You do have an awfully bad case of it though," the other twin commented.

The rest of the Weasleys appeared shortly, and they all headed towards Gringotts.

"Harry! Molly, Arthur! It's been a while." Sirius was waiting on the steps.

Harry ran up and hugged his Godfather.

"Yes. It has, I'm so sorry-" Arthur began.

"No, none of that. Today should be fun. I'm looking forwards, not back."

Mr and Mrs Weasley nodded. It wasn't something they should discuss in front of the children anyway.

They proceeded inside. "I've already got your funds, Harry," Sirius said, handing him a small pouch.

"Thanks. I was kind of looking forward to more cart rides though."

"Harry! Ron!" A cry from across the bank cut the discussion off, as Hermione sped over.

"It feels like forever already, doesn't it!" She said, pulling the two into a hug.

"Missed you too," Harry replied. "Almost as much as I miss air."

Hermione snorted, but let go.

"I suppose by your description that this is the one responsible for the books?"

Mr. Granger walked up, followed by an amused Mrs. Granger.

"I'm never going to live that down, am I?" Harry asked.

"I told you to keep doing it until they think it's normal," Hermione stage whispered loud enough for them all to hear.

Sirius chuckled. "Would it help if I claimed it's an old wizarding tradition?"

"Not if you use the word 'claimed', I should think," Arthur said. "Arthur Weasley, my wife Molly, and my brood. You must be Hermione's parents."

"Emma Granger; please excuse Dan, he's been looking forward to bullying a child all day," she pressed forward and shook hands.

"You're not making it easier, honey."

"You'll have to manage somehow."

"Sirius Black, Harry's godfather, and international man of mystery." He shook hands as well. "What's this about books, Harry?" Sirius asked.

"Apparently it's not normal to buy a friend a dozen school books for christmas, no matter how well received they might be," Harry explained.

"Nine school books and three ex-school books, actually. Our new defense professor must be a fan of Mr. Lockhart. The history text changed as well."

Arthur moaned. "I can't believe how many books we have to buy for one subject."

"Oh hush, they're very good books, and it's for their education," Molly disagreed.

Harry blinked. He had kind of hoped that telling Dumbledore that Lockhart was a fraudulent serial-obliviator would have knocked him out of the running for professor.

"Well, they're certainly… fantastic," Arthur managed. "Why don't I go make our withdrawal? No need in everyone being subjected to the cart system."

Harry sighed. "The one method of transport other than broom I enjoy, and… Sirius, if I become an accountant, do you think I'd spend a lot of time on the mine carts?"

"Not more than over a ledger book, I'd reckon."

The children and adults split apart as the conversations drifted.

"I wonder who they managed to get as a DADA professor this year," Percy asked. "It doesn't seem to be a position blessed with success."

"That, and they needed a replacement for Professor Binns as well," Harry said. "A lot of staff churn."

"What happened to Binns?" Fred asked. He was wearing a large "F" pin on his chest at the insistence of Molly. Harry gave it even odds that it had already been switched with the "G" the other twin had. He was sure that if it hadn't by now, it would before the day was through.

"I overheard some discussion. Apparently the Headmaster and House Heads finally noticed that he can't teach. I don't actually know what's happening, but it sounded like there were preparations for a new teacher."

Percy's mouth was wide open. "That's astounding news! I suppose it explains the change in the history book requirement as well."

"Did you not look at the list Harry?" Hermione asked.

"Not in any detail, no. Who does?"

Percy, Hermione and George all raised their hands.

Fred gave his brother a questioning look.

"I wanted to know what potion ingredients we wouldn't need to buy 'extra'."

Fred's eyes lit up in understanding and nodded, patting his brother on the shoulder. "Good show!"

They continued to catch up until Arthur returned.

"All right, here's a bit of spending money. I want you all in Flourish and Blotts in an hour to buy your books, understood? Ginny, you need a few more things, including your wand."

Ginny grinned, "Finally!"

"Right. One hour. Joke shop?" George asked his twin.

"Right." The twins ran off.

"And don't you take one step into Knockturn Alley!" Molly shouted after them.

"What's Knockturn Alley?" Mr. Granger asked.

"It's where the seedy underbelly of the local magic culture has been confined too," Sirius explained. "Imagine the rumors about Soho during its heyday, only magical, and slightly less red-light-districty." He frowned. "Magic is capable of really amazing things, but it can do seedy spectacularly well."

Mrs. Granger sighed. "I suppose it was foolish to think magic would solve societal problems."

"I'm in the mood for ice cream, how about you two?" Harry asked.

"Sounds good!" Hermione said, setting off already.

"I can get behind that," Ron shouted, catching up.

••••••••••

The entire group reconvened outside the book shop. They were by no means alone, a large group of mostly middle aged women and a few families trying to get inside.

"Oh my," Molly said upon seeing the sign. "Mr. Lockhart is actually here!"

"Joy of joys," Sirius mumbled. He had heard some of the highlights from Harry already, and wasn't looking forward to this.

The group got into line, with varying levels of eagerness or trepidation, and finally made it into the store. A photographer was dancing around, taking endless photos of Lockhart signing books for customers. As they moved closer, he nearly walked into Harry.

"Watch it. This is for the paper, kid!"

"You should watch where you're walking then."

Gilderoy looked up and did a double-take upon seeing Harry. "Is that Harry Potter?"

Having expected it this time made it much easier to be manhandled by the manic attention hound, as he was quickly dragged in front of the signing table.

"Smile for the paper, Harry!" Lockhart said under his breath, "Together we should be worth front page!"

Harry managed to not roll his eyes, though it took considerable effort, and instead tried for a confused weak grin.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he said loudly, waving for quiet. "What an extraordinary moment this is! The perfect moment for me to make a little announcement I've been sitting on for some time!"

He waited the perfect amount of time for the applause to die down, and Harry couldn't help but be impressed with his showmanship. His true talents were wasted, somewhere a late night show was missing its compare.

"When young Harry here stepped into Flourish and Blotts today, he only wanted me to sign his school books — which I shall be happy to present him now, free of charge. He had no idea that he would shortly be getting much, much more than my book, Magical Me. He and his schoolmates will, in fact, be getting the real magical me! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have great pleasure and pride in announcing that this September, I will be taking up the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"

The crowd cheered and applauded as Harry was provided Lockhart's entire range of books, which must have weighed a stone and a half, with Lockhart signing Magical Me and adding it to the top of the pile.

Harry staggered off under the weight, and tipped the pile into Ginny's new potions cauldron. "Here, I'll buy my own."

" _Now for Lucious to slip his master's toy into the pile, and give me my first victory,_ " Harry thought.

"Ah, Harry, you won't have to buy anything. In fact, _none_ of your peers will be buying Defence Against the Dark Arts books this year."

Harry turned to see Lucious standing in front of the table, Gilderoy looking slightly peeved at the interruption.

"Whatever do you mean, Mr. Malfoy?" asked Lockhart from behind a suspicious glare.

"Word reached the ears of the school board that this years book list was rather long. In fact, between yourself and the other changes this year, the required texts have almost doubled. So I have an announcement of my own to make. Any new textbook required for this year's history or DADA courses are being covered by myself and the other school board members. The store's proprietor has already been briefed, and please tell anyone who has already purchased their books that they can bring in receipts for a refund. I wish I could have announced this earlier, but it was all very last-minute."

The crowd cheered again, and Lockhart plastered a grin over his face again, now that his book sales were ensured. "Well, this is exciting news indeed! A most benevolent gesture, Mr. Malfoy!"

"Thank you. The board of governors does what it can."

Harry walked towards the exit, mentally reeling. This was not how anything was supposed to go.

"What do you mean, I can't buy the books?" Arthur's raised voice attracted Harry's attention.

"You can _have_ the books, but you can't pay for them. They've already been paid for by the school board. I'm not allowed to sell any to students or their families," the frustrated cashier tried explaining.

"I'm not taking anything paid for by that man!"

"Arthur. They need these for school. Let this pass. For now," Molly placed a hand on his shoulder.

Arthur turned and looked at his wife a moment before nodding. "Right. For now."

The cashier sighed with relief, then ducked slightly behind his register. "Oh dear."

"Arthur! Busy times in the ministry I hear. Plenty of overtime pay, I hope?"

"I don't know what game you're playing Lucious, but-"

"Game? I'm simply here on behalf of the school board. We know how rough the start of the school year can be on some families, and we thought we ought to do something to ease the burden, especially given this years… extensive, book list."

"Well, I hope you get your money's worth of good will out of this stunt. Perhaps enough of these will dull people's memories."

Lucious' face grew dark. "Perhaps you should be more gratefu-"

"Harry! There you are!" Draco suddenly slid into view so quickly, Harry almost wondered if he had acquired his own invisibility cloak.

"We simply _must_ go try a new ice-cream flavour combination I found, orange-mint with a hint of chocolate. My treat?"

Harry blinked, already off kilter from how rapidly events were spinning away from his memories. "I'm sorry, we already visited Floreans."

"Without me? I'm hurt." Draco paused. "Ah! No matter, there's a place nearby that does fudge in almost as many flavors."

Harry glanced across the tableau of adults, thinking quickly. "Sounds great. Sirius?"

Sirius dragged his stare off of Lucious, and gave Harry a grin. "You're a big boy. Stay out of trouble, and meet me in the Leaky Cauldron when you're ready."

Fred piped up. "Mum?"

Molly's mouth opened and closed once, before "Of course," managed to come out.

"If you like," Emma preempted her daughter.

Lucious also seemed slightly off put by the switch in mood. "Well. I have business to attend to. You know where to find me, Draco?"

"Of course."

"Then go have fun." With that, he exited the store.

"I suppose the two of you have never had butterbeer before?" Sirius asked.

The Grangers' reply was lost to Harry as they all traveled to the confectioner's shop.

Harry's feet managed to follow everyone else, but his head was miles off. Harry had the feeling something was off. Well, clearly things had changed, but that was to be expected to some extent, he was 'friends' with Draco now. That was bound to have affected Lucious, but to this degree?

He was missing something. Something big. Had he become so lax over the summer?

"Here we are!"

Harry was abruptly knocked out of his speculation by Draco's announcement. They all went in.

Draco did a quick headcount. "Hmm, two each? Fabian, fourteen fudges, on me. Place your orders."

"Sure thing Draco, you want your regular?"

"Please."

"Coming up. What flavours would the rest of you like?"


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter 4: Points of View**_

Draco let go of his father moments after the two side-along apparated back to Malfoy manor.

He glanced at his father's face, mild unease in his gut. Father wouldn't get _angry_ , but Draco knew he might have foiled some plan that hadn't been shared with him.

"I hope today was a success?"

Lucious frowned. "It was. You did well. I… I shall be in my study, I need to think on some things. If I'm not out by dinner, have Dobby fetch me."

He turned and headed for his study, leaving Draco relieved, yet anxious. His father was almost always confident and composed. It was disquieting to see him this way.

••••••••••

"Just what happened, today?"

Dan had directed the question at his daughter as they drove home from the car park nearest the entrance to Diagon Alley.

Hermione winced. "I'm not entirely sure myself. Where to start? Lockhart is obviously a celebrity author."

"Obviously. Why was he so keen on being seen with your friend?"

"I did tell you Harry is the Boy-Who-Lived, right?"

"You did, but what is that supposed to mean, anyway?" Emma asked.

"So, there was an evil wizard,"

"Seriously?" Dan interrupted.

"Yes. It happens apparently. You'll remember Morgana from the stories of Merlin. The chinese story of a wizard who kept his soul in a needle in an egg in a duck in a tree or something to that effect. Baba Yaga. Those are some of the ones famous enough that wizards couldn't erase them from muggle history. More recently, my headmaster defeated Grindelwald, who was working with the axis during the second world war."

"Oh good grief!"

"So there was an evil wizard who running a sort of terrorism campaign across the magical UK. One night, he went to Harry's parents' house, and killed his mum and dad, then vanished. The house burnt down, but they found Harry, who was barely a toddler, alive and well. No one knows what happened, but the wizard is assumed dead."

"So he's treated like national hero then?"

"Basically. He represents a _deus ex machina_ , Voldemort's reign of terror ended literally overnight, for unknown reasons, somehow involving Harry."

"And then he bought you a library."

"You need to get over that, dad."

"We'll see."

"So who are the… Malfoys?" Emma asked.

"Draco is another student in my year. He and Harry are… not exactly friends, despite appearances. His father is old money. Wrapped up in politics. Mr. Weasley works for the wizarding government, and the two are on opposing ends of the political spectrum. On top of that, Lucious was allegedly a member of Voldemort's forces, but pled that he was controlled against his will. People say he bribed his way out of jail time."

"This man is allowed on the school board? How lovely... And you want to live in a world with all this craziness?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "It's only more crazy because you aren't accustomed to it. If someone woke up out of a twenty year coma into modern Britain, they wouldn't recognize it. It's not as if I came home and announced I'm going vegan. I **am** a witch. Even if I snapped my wand and never cast a spell again, I would still be magical. I'm probably going to live to see my 100th birthday. How will I explain it to people when I'm 7o and look 45?"

The car drove in silence for a while.

"Hermione, we love you." Emma stopped, finding the words. "It's just scary for us. There's an entire world out there that we never knew about. And we don't know how to help you."

"I love you too. You know that I'm not going anywhere, right? I mean, Scotland, but… There aren't any rules that say I have to live as a witch after school. I'm smart. I could get a degree afterwards. It wouldn't be easy, but I could graduate Hogwarts and still get a BA. A doctorate is probably out of the picture, but I could still get a professional job. Or maybe even learn a trade. All your friends are always complaining about how expensive plumbers and electricians are. I could literally magically fix a customer's plumbing."

"You would really give up living in that world?"

"Maybe. It's a possibility. I've got six years before I need to make a decision, and I could always change my mind later."

"That's fair. You're still young yet, honey."

The car drove on.

••••••••••

"So Harry and Draco are friends?"

Ron frowned. He was getting a snack from the kitchen, and his father had just shown up out of nowhere.

"I guess? Well, I'd say they're friendly to one another, but not really friends."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I think they met in Diagon Alley last year before term."

"And now Draco buys you all fudge?"

Ron blinked. "Seems that way."

Arthur started to say something, before trying again. "Has anyone told Harry about the Malfoys' past?"

Ron smiled, finally getting why his father was being so curious. "Several of us. I think he said something like 'Just because his father was an arse doesn't mean he has to be one too.' Honestly though, Draco's been fairly pleasant all year."

"Lucious is all smiles until he stabs you in the back too."

Ron shrugged. "Harry is smart. And he's got his godfather watching out for him now. What do you think they're going to do, ask him to come to a sleep over and kidnap him?"

"That's not…" Arthur stopped, and chuckled. "Maybe I'm overthinking this. Thanks."

Ron watched his father walk out. " _I hope you know what you're doing, Harry,"_ he thought.

••••••••••

Harry bounced off the section of floor in front of the fireplace that Sirius had spelled to soften his travels.

Harry ran a hand through his hair and grimaced. "Well, _fuck_."

Sirius frowned. "What's wrong? You're worrying me."

"I don't know what's wrong. That's the problem. This is a _major_ diversion. Lucious never went near Ginny's things. I looked through all the books, no diary to be seen. Damn it, one year in, and we're already in uncharted waters!"

"Calm down and let's think this through. What happened this summer last time?"

"I was with the Dursleys, obviously. Ron and the twins broke me out of there with the flying car."

"Broke you out?"

"They'd literally locked me up in my room. There's a reason I killed my uncle this time."

"Huh. Okay, so you stayed with them, then today happened, but differently, then what?"

"Ron and I flew to school in the car because Dobby-" Harry's eyes grew large. "I'm such an idiot. I haven't met Dobby yet. Term starts in a few days and he hasn't tried to keep me away even once! I thought he might not get to us while we were in America, even house elves have limits, but we've been back for weeks now!"

"Now we're getting somewhere!" Sirius grinned. "So Lucious didn't give Ginny the diary, and Dobby isn't trying to keep you from school. Dobby doesn't want you hurt, but if Lucious isn't planning to kill you, Dobby wouldn't 'warn' you."

"There are other options. Dobby might not know, for example. But yes, that sounds right. But why would there be such a large change so soon?"

"I don't know, maybe because Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy are bestest friends in this universe? Lucious thinks you could be more useful as an ally than in a grave, apparently."

Harry blinked a few times before face palming. "Smegging Lucius Malfoy! Now that I'm friends with his son, the bastard won't try and kill my other friend's sister like he's supposed to. I can't believe making friends with Draco backfired like this. I mean, I kind of expected trouble sooner or later, but _this?_ "

"Calm down. Where does this leave things?"

Harry ran his hand through his hair. "I… I don't know. This is why I couldn't do anything when I came back. I'm… I need a nap and an hour of meditation, then I guess I'll need to floo Dumbledore. You want to come along?"

"I don't think I really should. Dumbledore was the one person I would have expected to notice and care that I didn't get a trial. If only to get a better picture of what was going on. And I certainly don't want to meet Severus."

"Fair enough."

••••••••••

Draco had ended up needing to have Dobby fetch his father after all. Mother was away having dinner with some of her friends, so it was just himself and Father.

Lucious took in the aroma of the venison stew before spooning a morel and bit of carrot into his mouth and nodding in satisfaction.

"Draco, we need to have a serious discussion."

The bottom seemed to drop out of Draco's stomach. "Yes?"

"When I was in the full bloom of youth, a very charismatic man gathered a number of individuals such as myself, and explained that he too saw the problems in our society. He said that he saw a way forward, if we came together and helped him."

Draco swallowed another spoonful and nodded. Father was always vague about these matters, for understandable reasons.

"He offered us power. Not just political or economic power. Personal power. You know I'm no slouch with a wand."

"Of course not."

"I'm nothing as I once was. We took part in rituals. Not what you are thinking, probably. He showed us. For every ridiculous, melodramatic ritual requiring the murder of a virgin at midnight under a full moon, there are at least three practical, rather simple practices requiring nothing more than a knowledge of runes and a chicken or sheep. I could show you one that takes nothing more than chalk, a fertilized chicken egg, and a drop of blood. But there is always sacrifice. The greater the sacrifice, the larger the effect."

He stopped for more soup.

"That's why everyone remembers the murders under full moons, I suppose?" Draco asked.

Lucious nodded. "Of course. As silly as they are, the ones that work have dramatic results. The simpler ones have much smaller gains. And what most forget is that it isn't a sacrifice if you are not giving something up. Making a sheep bleed to death for you is not enough. _You_ must lose something in order to gain something.

"We used to be powerful. At the height of my ability, I once single-handedly allowed us to retreat from Dumbledore." He grinned. "If that doesn't sound impressive, I've failed to explain what a monster lurks under that placid exterior your professor wears. Make no mistake, if he lacked the morals- bizarre and skewed as they may be- Dumbledore could do by himself what either Grindelwald or He attempted and failed. There is good reason they both respected and feared the man."

His soup had gone lukewarm, Draco noted. He ate it anyway.

"When He vanished, almost everything we had gained went with him. But the prices remained. I had been very selective about what I went through. Others had seen 'easy' power up for grabs, and their fall was all the greater.

"Today I was provoked by Arthur Weasley. Make no mistake, Draco. He is not a stupid man. If he was, I'd have crushed him, or put him in my pocket long ago. But he should not have been able to provoke me, in public no less, so easily."

Lucious looked at his son. "I think that part of my sacrifice, for the ability to be a man of action, was to more readily seek it out. I no longer have the discretion, the guile, I once did."

"That's not so, father-"

"Draco. Reality does not make way for hopes and wishes. When presented with a setback, don't pretend it doesn't exist. That just makes things worse. Accept it and work around it."

Draco nodded.

"Think about the plan. Are there any holes in it? Don't just say no automatically. I'm asking you, are there _any_ bits you think could go wrong? Am I making a mistake, being too bold, leaving loose ends?"

Draco took several spoons of soup and thought. "Nothing should be traced back to us. The only thing I can think of is that... we don't actually know what it will do. You're taking the word of a man who let you sacrifice your cunning for power. And unless you held back something from me, he was awfully vague with what, exactly, the book _was_."

Lucious nodded. "It was a gamble. Perhaps it was made poorly. I want you to be careful this year."


End file.
